Keeping Your Family Connected

Category: Community
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With the long weekend approaching, we want to look past the party planning and vacation destinations and take a moment to look back at where Memorial Day began. We at Great Plains Communications are extremely grateful for the sacrifices so many brave men and women make each year to fight for our country. We also value this holiday as a time set aside each year to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Here’s a little history about Memorial Day:

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day and it began in the years following the Civil War. It was called Decoration Day because it was a day set aside to decorate fallen soldiers’ grave sites. In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y. as the birthplace of Memorial Day as it was the first to have an annual, community-wide commemoration.

In 2000, the “National Moment of Remembrance Act” was passed to officially set a time for a national moment of silence. At 3 p.m. on Memorial Day, all Americans are encouraged to take a moment to remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the U.S.

We invite you to join Great Plains Communications and the rest of the country in the moment of silence and as Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada said: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

It is graduation weekend for many areas, which is one of our favorite times of year here at Great Plains Communications. We are honored to be able to award $15,000 in scholarships to students in our communities.

Help us in congratulating our deserving award winners!

Alissa Meyer of Wisner, NE

Baily Wood of Grant, NE

Britley Schlueter of Wood Lake, NE

Cade Ewoldt of Blair, NE

Callie McCandless of Blair, NE

Drew Letcher of Hay Springs, NE

Haylee Klawitter of Verdigre, NE

James McArtor of Grant, NE

Jarrett Branz of Blair, NE

Krista Ott of Wisner, NE

Makayla Brockhaus of Creighton, NE

Mariah Dendeinger of Crofton, NE

Nathan Hatterman of Wisner, NE

Nathan Tobiasson of Hay Springs, NE

Shaylee Heathers of Champion, NE

Our scholarship program isn’t just about helping students go to college, it’s also about encouraging students to return to rural towns after they leave college. These students often become leaders in their communities, bring new solutions to rural issues, and encourage growth in rural towns. Find out more information on our grants and scholarships program at https://www.gpcom.com/about/scholarships.

Each year, Great Plains Communications is proud and honored for the chance to support our communities through our “Commitment to our Schools” program. This year we were able to present four grants totaling just under $20,000. We would like to take this time to again to congratulate all our 2017 grant recipients:

Neligh-Oakdale Schools – $3,800 Grant

The funds will be used towards continuing the integration of technology into the schools, by allowing them to purchase additional iPads for the 3rd grade glasses to bring it to 1:1 ratio of student per iPad. This will allow decrease wasted time while students were waiting to use these resources for testing, projects and hands-on discovery learning.

Tekamah-Herman Elementary – $5,000 Grant

The school plans to use the money to purchase iPads to be used in the classrooms during math and reading stations. This will allow the students to practice their math facts and take reading quizzes.

Gordon Elementary School – $5,000 Grant

The school plans to use the funds toward an Introduction to Programming-Robotics in the Classroom project for the 4th and 5th grade. “Introduction to Programming provides a structured sequence of programming activities in real-world project-based contexts,” Principal, Mr. Casey Slama explained in the application. “The projects are designed to get students thinking about the patterns and structure of not just robotics, but also programming and problem-solving more generally.”

Wausa Public School – $5,000 Grant

Focusing not only on the school, but community learning as well, the school plans to use the grant towards Graphic Arts and Advertising Programs. In steps to help students possess real life knowledge of the business and advertising world, they are looking to purchase a high-quality color printer with a 40 in laminator. This would allow the students to work on advertising projects for local businesses, teaching them about deadlines and responsibility.

Help us in congratulating Broken Bow Middle School teacher, Carolyn Troxel as our Outstanding Teacher of the Year! It had been a day full of standardized testing for the school, ending with a presentation in the auditorium. Little did Troxel know, that not only were her 7th and 8th grade students ready to surprise her, but her family was waiting in the library just a short distance down the hall.

Casey Garrigan, Marketing & Sales Relations Manager and Principal Rusty Kluender asked Troxel to the stage. Once the initial applause had subsided, Garrigan read part of Troxel’s application. When asked what rewards she finds in teaching, she wrote, “I am rewarded when my students have success no matter how big or small. Everyday I get to experience new worlds and learning through the eyes of my students. I get to capture that moment of inspiration when it emerges from these young learners and use it to constantly encourage others to do their best. I strive to make sure that every student is able to experience the joy that comes from doing a job well.”

Troxel, a middle school language arts teacher was awarded a plaque along with a check for $5,000. Great Plains Communications wants to thank her for her time and dedication and again congratulate her on being our Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

Every second week in April is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Many don’t know what that means or have never heard of this week-long event. April 9-15, 2017 has been dedicated to the people who are not often seen but heard through the sounds of an emergency. Great Plains Communications would like to thank all dispatchers throughout our communities for your service. We understand that being a dispatcher is much more than answering and transferring phone calls.

They keep our policemen informed, track firemen through dangerous scenes, provide a calm voice through panic of a traumatic event, and much more. Thank you for helping create a safer world for our families and friends.

Yesterday was the first day of spring, which means outside projects will be starting. Before your shovel hits the dirt, Great Plains Communications would like to take a moment to remind our customers of the Digger’s Hotline and calling before you dig.

Keep in mind that the projects we are referring to are more than just planting some tomatoes or putting in some new flowers along the walkway. If you are planning to dig more than 6 inches into the ground, you should start off by calling 811. These projects could be the install of a new fence, putting in an underground pool or planting a new tree.

The Digger’s Hotline keeps track of the many electrical wires, Internet Cable, sewer lines and other wires that run underneath your city. Pipes and wires can run underneath streets, businesses, parks and your home without your knowledge. While we here at Great Plains Communications traditionally bury our Internet, Cable and Phone wires at least 6 ft. underground, some wires may be buried as shallow as 6 in.

In addition to the 811 phone number, the Digger’s Hotline also has a website you can visit, at http://www.ne1call.com/. There you can find information on digging projects, upcoming events, new laws and even registration for a Damage Prevention Class.

Remember that it is your duty to call before starting a project, and if you do damage to any pipes or wires, you may be liable. Protect yourself and your neighbors and call 811 first!

This Sunday, March 12, 2017 we will “spring forward” in recognition of daylight saving time. As there has been talk and even a bill proposed to end the recognition of daylight saving time in Nebraska, Great Plains Communications wanted to share a few facts about why we adjust our clocks twice a year.

“Daylight Saving Time” vs. “Daylight Savings Time”

You will often see people refer to it as “daylight savings time”, when in fact that is incorrect. Since the word “saving” is acting as an adjective rather than a verb, it should be written in singular form to be grammatically correct.

The United States was not the first country to recognize daylight saving time

Germany was the first country to enact daylight saving time on April 30, 1916 in steps to conserve electricity during World War I. Shortly after, the United Kingdom did the same, introducing “summer time.” The United States didn’t adopt daylight saving until 1918.

Not everybody in the United States changes their clocks

Both Hawaii and Arizona do not observe daylight saving time, as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Some Amish communities also choose to remain on standard time year-round.

The survey provides feedback on how customers feel about and benefit from Great Plains Communications products and services. This information is helpful to track how technology is advancing the communities we serve and provides information to help make changes and improvements that can strengthen our business as a whole as well as enhance our customers’ experience.

We are always eager to get better insights from our customers and we know having as many responses as possible helps with this goal. We also understand that our survey takes time, so we created a coinciding drawing to thank you for participating. As you can see in the pictures, our winners, Dean & Carol, Alice, and Connie received $100 gift cards.

We always want to hear unbiased feedback, so it doesn’t matter how someone rates us, it just matters that they complete the survey. Every customer will be reached within a calendar year, so be on the lookout for your chance to win a great prize!

We are excited to announce that Abby Jensen, Nebraska native and part of the Great Plains Communications family, has had four photography pieces chosen by The Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, NE as part of their ‘Wings Over the Platte’ show. Currently going on, and running until April 9th, ‘Wings Over the Platte’ is “Grand Island’s celebration of the return of the Sandhill Cranes every spring,” states their website. Along with Abby’s ‘Cradling the Moon’ piece being chosen for billboard advertising, she received two Awards of Merit for ‘Cradling the Moon’ and ‘Leading the Way’.

This celebration is not just for bird watchers, but for anyone who appreciates the beauty of the Sandhill Cranes and the Platte River. When visiting, you can find Abby’s artwork, as well as other pieces specific to the spring migration, at Stuhr Museum’s ‘Wings Over the Platte’ exhibit, Prairie Winds Art Center’s ‘Spirit of the Cranes’ exhibit, and in the gallery of the nature center.

Again, we want to congratulate Abby on the selection of her beautiful photography. All pieces are displayed below and will be for sale at the show.

Punxsutawney Phil did in fact see his shadow this morning, meaning six more weeks of winter. While Groundhog Day is one of the oddest traditions in the United States, most people don’t actually know where the whole idea started. Great Plains Communications looked to our cable channel, the History Channel for more on the origin of this bizarre holiday and we would like to share a few facts we found.

The idea originally stemmed from an ancient Christian tradition called Candlemas Day. History Channel describes Candlemas Day as a day when, “clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter,” with the candles, “representing how long and cold the winter would be”. From there, the Germans expanded on this idea and chose a hedgehog as a way of predicting the weather. Once German settlers made their way to America, they continued the tradition in Pennsylvania, but switching to the locally common groundhog rather than a hedgehog.

The first Groundhog Day celebration was on February 2, 1887 at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. It was created after a local newspaper editor, Clymer Freas, pitched the idea to a group of businessmen and groundhog hunters known as the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. They found the area of Gobbler’s Knob where the inaugural groundhog has led to the Punxsutawney Phil we know today.

As the idea of a groundhog predicting weather picked up popularity, additional areas have adopted their own traditions of a local creature helping with the annual weather forecast. In Vermillion, Ohio, they have the wooly bear caterpillar, where if the insect has more orange than black coloring on its furry body, the coming winter will be mild. Places have also adopted their own local groundhog to make their predictions, such as General Beau Lee in Atlanta, GA, Sir Walter Wally in Raleigh, N.C., and Jimmy in Sun Prairie, WI.

Just as he saw his shadow this morning, Phil has seen his shadow 102 times in high contrast to the 17 times he has not. No matter if you are bundling up to get through the next six weeks of winter or celebrating the few more weeks for cooler temperatures, Great Plains Communications would like to wish everyone a wonderful Groundhogs Day.